Change for the Better
by cmspi
Summary: Draco and Hermione have an emotional postwar chat.DHr.


A/N: I really despise this ship. No offense. But my friend wanted me to write her a "Dramione" story, so here it is. A short little oneshot, for your enjoyment.

Her light brown curls blew softly in the wind as she hugged her knees to her chest by the lake. She looked up at one of the big trees of Hogwarts, remembering the times she had spent here with her friends, laughing and doing homework. Those times were far in the past. Her friends were gone; they had lost their lives protecting the Wizarding World against the Dark Lord. She was alone, without Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, or Ginny. Each one had been tortured, each one right in front of Hermione. But they hadn't given up. They were martyrs; they were heroes.

It wasn't fair to her. The only bad person that seemed to die was Voldemort himself. The rest were still running around. Bellatrix, who had killed Neville while he tried to revenge her, was pretty much expected to become the leader of the Death Eaters. Many, including Hermione herself, were fearful that the group would rise to become nearly as powerful as it had pre-War. Lucius Malfoy had died in Azkaban before the war even started. After hearing this news, his wife Narcissa had killed herself. Draco Malfoy was still alive; he had turned to the good side right before the war, deciding that his loyalty belonged with Dumbledore and that if he was to die, he wasn't going to be a part of it anymore. Draco spent almost as much time here at Hogwarts as Hermione did. He was still grieving for his mother the way Hermione was for her friends.  
On this day, the sunshine seemed to tease the girl, making the day a beautiful one even though hers was horrid. The flowers danced in the breeze, playing with the sun in its mocking game. Hermione felt like tearing the flowers out of the grown and throwing them farther than the eye could see… but she didn't. She just hugged her knees closer and let a single tear fall from her eye.

She felt a hand wipe it away and opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy. She had sympathy for him (she still had her mother, after all), but she still was hardly comfortable with him touching her.  
He felt her tense up and backed away, but he didn't go far. He sat beside her, hugging his knees like she did hers and giving her a half-hearted smile.

"Nice day, huh?" he asked sadly. She shrugged.

"Why are you talking to me? I thought you hated me…" Her voice trailed off towards the end as he gave a tiny chuckle.

"I don't hate you, Granger."  
She was confused but didn't want to show it; after all, she was the genius! She was Hermione Granger! She could never be confused by the words of some dimwitted boy…

"Then why did you call me "Mudblood" all those years? Why did you make fun of me and my friends so constantly?"  
"Because of my family ties, Hermione. It was how I grew up: how I was taught to be. I see now that that was wrong. I see I was stupid to think that way."  
She had never heard him call her Hermione, so it came as quite a shock to her. She shook off this surprise as she pondered what he said.

"Yes, but…" she paused lingeringly, taking time to think out her words, "Weren't you raised to hate me?"

"I never said I never hated you. I just said I don't hate you now."

She gave a tiny 'oh', and sighed. He sighed with her.

"Look, Hermione, we… we haven't really talked since it happened. Or at all, really. But I'm… I'm really sorry for your loss. I know how much those stupid boys meant to you."

Hermione looked at him, at his hopeless look and his need to be comforted for his own loss, but she couldn't hold in her tears any longer. They began flowing out as she sniffled through words.  
"They… they were my best friends!"  
Before she realized what she was doing, she was lying in his arms, allowing him to stroke her hair and calm her down.  
Eventually, the girl stopped crying and pulled away. She wiped her eyes and nose before remembering his look of hopelessness.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Mal- Draco."

He gave her another half-hearted smile.

"My dad was a big jerk anyway. My mom… I'll miss my mom."

Hermione smiled and turned back to the lake, watching the small waves grow stronger as the wind picked up.  
"Hermione?" his voice was small and squeaky, almost scared.

"Yes?" she asked, returning the tone in fear of what he was scared of.

"I'm really sorry I never really got to know you…"

He once again looked so small and helpless, like a tiny abandoned kitten.

Hermione stood and held out her hand, gesturing for him to take it.

"That can change, Draco. It can really change."

He took her hand and they walked, leaving the pot full of memories that was Hogwarts and off to start their own memories. Perhaps they would be great friends… perhaps something more… but all that was important was that a great change was made that day, and that change was certainly for the better.

A/N: Please review! I might write more Harry Potter fanfiction in the future if you liked it. So how was this for my first non-TT fanfic?


End file.
